The FCC starts to call out telemarketers publicly, hopes cell providers use the info for good

Spam callers and telemarketers, please run far away and hide. The FCC just announced that they will begin to release data on those annoying calls every week. The information will include the date and time the call was received, type of message (robot or human), complainant’s state, and caller ID phone number. The commission hopes that phone companies and developers will start to use that information to improve their “do not disturb” tools. The info is published in a spreadsheet that is already available to view.

Currently, the options to avoid these annoying and unwanted calls are lackluster. iOS allows you to block phone numbers, and on Android you can use apps or third-party dialers to get the same outcome. The weight still falls on us, the consumer, to demand to be placed on a do not call list. There is no automated tool to avoid being on a spam caller list. The FCC’s hopes are clear, they’d like that to change and they want providers to give similar options to landline customers. "Companies may use data like this to further improve their services in determining what calls and texts a consumer might choose to block or filter (i.e. sent directly to voicemail)," the FCC said in a press release.

According to the FCC, everyone deserves to have the right tools to select which calls and texts they receive, and hopefully phone providers will jump on board that opinion.